Khouth Sophak Chakrya

A FIRE ripped through the Kampong Popil Market in Prey Veng province’s Kampong Popil commune on Wednes-day night, causing more than $1 million in damage to shops and dwellings.

Commune chief Thoeng Samneang told The Post on Thursday the fire destroyed 75 houses and shops.

“According to the initial police

estimate, the fire caused $1.08 million in damage,” he said.

Pea Reang district police chief Long Bun Bunthoen told The Post the cause of the fire is electrical malfunction at a motorcycle repair shop. There were no deaths or injuries.

Samneang said it took fire-fighters from Prey Veng and Kandal provinces and Phnom Penh three hours and 560cm of water to put out the fire.

A Prey Veng Red Cross

Emergency Team visited the site to assist victims facing temporary hardship.

Chheng Kun, 39, said she sells clothes and cosmetics at the market. She told The Post her home of 15 years was de-stroyed by fire.

“My husband and three kids were sleeping when we heard shouting that a fire was coming. My husband and I did not think about anything besides taking the kids from

the house. We ran from the house with no time to spare. The destroyed property was worth over $50,000,” she said.

Grocer Sreng Pheng, 73, said: “I did not take anything besides my wife getting out of the house. We are old and do not have kids staying with us.”

Prey Veng provincial gov-ernor Chea Somethy said he had asked authorities to work together to help rebuild the market.

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Paradise lostA man looks at damages caused by the passage of Hurricane Eta in Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua, on Wednesday. Hurricane Eta pummelled Nicaragua, killing two people there and one in neighbouring Honduras, while unleashing fierce winds and heavy downpours. AFP

Delay to cancer care ups death risk

Fire races through Prey Veng market

DELAYING cancer treatment by just a month can put patients at a sharply greater risk of dying, according to research published on Wednesday, the latest to sound the alarm over the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact on other health conditions.

Treatment delays happen in normal times, but the spread of Covid-19 has caused unprecedented disruption to healthcare services.

In a new study published in the “BMJ medical” jour-nal, researchers in the UK and Canada found that delays in treatment – wheth-er for surgery, radiotherapy, or other treatments such as chemotherapy – for seven types of cancers had a sig-nificant impact on patient mortality.

“There has never been a systematic attempt to look at all the evidence on what delays in different types of treatment mean for cancer patient outcomes,” said co-author Ajay Aggarwal, a clinical oncologist and Associate Professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

“Because we know this is happening to cancer patients during the Covid-19 pandemic it is essential to understand the real impact.”

The study found even a one-month postponement could mean a patient had a six to 13 per cent higher risk of dying. The longer the wait for treatment, the higher the risk.

The authors described the findings, based on dozens of international studies published over the last two decades, as “sobering”.

The research suggests that “for the majority of the major cancers and treatments there is no ‘safe’ treatment delay”, Aggarwal said.

Researchers estimated that a delay in surgery of 12 weeks for all patients with breast cancer – during Cov-id-19 lockdowns and their aftermath, for example – would, over the course of a year, lead to 1,400 excess deaths in the UK, 6,100 in the US, 700 in Canada, and 500 in Australia. AFP

Court issues asset freeze order for uN listed Names

KiNgdom’s biKes rolliNg all over, exports reaCh $379m

bideN taKes big step to wiNNiNg eleCtioN, trump Claims fraud

sCulptor briNgs the KiNgdom’s highly revered figures to life

NAtIoNAl – PAgE 2

busINEss – PAgE 7

WoRlD – PAgE 11

lIfEstylE – PAgE 14

Long Kimmarita

PRIME Minister Hun Sen has cancelled his visits and post-poned joining sev-

eral planned programmes to continue his quarantine.

The cancellation came after Hungarian Minister of For-eign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto, who met Hun Sen

and other senior officials dur-ing his one-day visit in Cam-bodia on Tuesday, tested pos-itive for Covid-19 in the Thai capital Bangkok.

In a Facebook post on No-vember 4, the prime minister said even though he did not contract Covid-19, for the safety of all, doctors required him to live in isolation for 14 days. He made apologies to

the King and Queen Mother, flood victims, as well as heads of states for the cancellation.

“So, the King and Queen Mother, please forgive me for not escorting you when you return from the People’s Re-public of China and celebrate Independence Day on No-vember 9,” he said.

“Brothers and sisters in the provinces of Pursat, Battam-

bang and Banteay Meanchey, please forgive me for not join-ing in distributing rice seeds and relief donations. I will assign my representatives to distribute them instead.

“Please postpone the groundbreaking ceremony of the 38-road renovation project in Siem Reap province, which

Hun Sen in quarantine, cancels planned meet

CoNtINuED – PAgE 2

Assets frozen by court for those on UN sanctions list

THE Phnom Penh Munici-pal Court has issued an order to freeze the assets

of individuals and entities who were named on the UN Security Council’s sanctions list follow-ing a request from the Ministry of Justice.

Ministry spokesman Chin Malin told The Post on Novem-ber 4 that the court’s order was an implementation of legal procedure based on the new law recently passed by the National Assembly on the anti-financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

“In the UN Security Council resolution, Cambodia is re-quired to freeze the assets of individuals and entities on the UN Security Council’s sanctions list.

“Based on the new law on anti-financing of the prolifera-tion of lethal weapons, the jus-tice ministry has informed the court of the list of sanctioned individuals and entities in the decision of the UN Security Council.

“The Cambodian court is responsible for issuing asset freezing warrants,” Malin said.

These assets include budgets and real estate, he added.

According to the municipal court’s November 2 order, it received the ministry’s letter No 1559 released on October 2.

Attached were 11 decisions of the UN Security Council.

The court found that nine of the council’s 11 decisions had sanctioned individuals in North Korea and therefore issued the warrant as requested.

The other two decisions sanc-tioned individuals in Iran.

The court said it followed Arti-cle 4 of the law on anti-financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

The court did not identify individuals or entities whose assets have been targeted to be freezed. Voun Dara

National2 THE PHNOM PENH POST november 6, 2020 www.PHNOMPENHPOST.cOM

Continued from page 1

had originally been scheduled for november 16 to a later date.

“The heads of states, ASeAn governments and all relevant partners, please forgive me for not joining the [planned] meeting. I will assign repre-sentatives to join it from no-vember 12-15, 2020. Though I can’t leave my house, I will still carry out work to exam-ine, approve and sign various documents for the govern-ment,” he said.

The prime minister added he would take time during quarantine to exercise at a residence compound and not allow people to visit. He said he had instructed gov-ernment officials, provincial governors and commanders of the armed forces to report to him and ask his opinion on state affairs.

“This is the best way for safety and health for all. I would like to thank compa-triots at home and abroad for feeling concerned about my health and sending well wishes to me,” he said.

In an announcement on no-vember 5, the Cambodian min-istry of Health said upon receiv-ing information that Szijjarto tested positive for Covid-19 in Thailand, it had carried out contact tracing of people who had been in contact with him during his visit to Cambodia.

“As of 11pm on november 4,

a total of 628 people, who were in contact with the Hungarian minister, had their samples tested at Institut Pasteur du Cambodge. Their tests proved negative for Covid-19.

“The ministry is identify-ing the contacts and inform-ing the public when it gets a series of results of analytic samples,” it said.

meanwhile, the ministry of education, Youth and Sport announced on november 4 that educational establish-ments whose individuals or students had been in contact with the Hungarian delegates had to delay studying for 14 days. They also have to self-quarantine for 14 days.

online learning programmes of those establishments still proceed as normal, it said.

“The schools’ boards of management, staff, students, parents and guardians at the above-mentioned educa-tional establishments have to exercise heightened caution and continue to monitor their health.

“In the case that any of them is suspected of having the virus, they have to contact the health ministry,” the ministry said.

According to the health ministry, as of november 5, Cambodia had not detected new Covid-19 cases. The country has recorded 292 Covid-19 patients in total, 286 of whom have been dis-charged from hospitals.

Students quarantining after meeting delegates

Int’l buyers urged to order from KingdomMom Kunthear

mInISTrY of La-bour and vo-cational Train-ing spokesman

Heng Sour has called on in-ternational buyers to contin-ue purchasing products from Cambodia to help improve workers’ living standards and working conditions.

Sour was speaking at a workshop under the theme “Developing joint plans for sustainability of compliance with laws in the sectors of garment, textile, footwear and travel goods and handbags”.

The workshop was hosted by International Labour or-ganisation – better Facto-ries Cambodia (ILo-bFC) in Phnom Penh on Wednesday. Participants included repre-sentatives from ministries, in-stitutions, national and inter-national organisations, trade unions, factories and enter-prises in the sectors of gar-ments, footwear, travel goods and handbags. International buyers were also present.

Garment manufacturers As-sociation in Cambodia (GmAC) deputy secretary-general Kaing monika told The Post that the participants discussed plans to boost compliance with the labour law and international working standards.

“The labour ministry and GmAC are of the same view that ensuring the sustain-ability of compliance with the labour law and international working standards is what we need to promote.

“We informed buyers that they have to continue sup-porting Cambodia. So, when we get full support from buy-ers, we have a good industry that is stable. It is also a factor helping recreate the sustain-ability of compliance with the labour law and international working standards,” he said.

monika said the discussion involved buyers helping to sup-port Cambodia by buying suffi-

cient goods from factories. Cambodian Labour Confed-

eration (CLC) president Ath Thorn said it was normal that labour ministry officials re-quest buyers to continue buy-ing goods from Cambodia.

“It is for safety and protect-ing workers. In order to support this process, the government requested buyers continue buy-ing goods and support Cambo-dia in its strategy,” he said.

Thorn said discussion at the workshop focused on Covid-19 and its serious effect on the garment, textile and foot-wear sectors. He said the eU’s 20 per cent withdrawal of the everything but Arms (ebA) scheme did not affect the sec-tors seriously.

According to statistics from the labour ministry, since the emergence of the pandemic, 69 factories suspended work and 130 companies closed their doors, leaving 70,000 workers out of jobs.

Last year, Cambodia had 1,730 factories, of which 1,069 were for manufacturing gar-ment, textile, footwear and travel goods, according to statistics from the ministry of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation.

Labour ministry spokesman Heng Sour wants international buyers to continue purchasing products from Cambodia. labour ministry

3THE PHNOM PENH POST november 6, 2020 www.PHNOMPENHPOST.cOM

Voun Dara

THE Ministry of Environment has installed 49 air quality mon-itors in 25 locations to monitor and check air quality after an increase of inert particle con-centration PM2.5 in January.

Ministry spokesman Neth Pheaktra told reporters on November 3 that the minis-try is monitoring air quality across the country. It has in-stalled air quality monitors in 11 locations In Phnom Penh alone and 38 in 24 provinces.

“We see the air quality in Phnom Penh and the provinc-es is below standard. The stan-dard set by the environment ministry is 50 AQI [Air Qual-ity Index]. Air quality fluctuates between 15 and 30 to 40 only, and doesn’t reach 50,” he said.

Pheaktra said air quality in the country is good, and the ministry has taken mea-sures to prevent air pollution. These measures include the enactment of sub-decrees on air pollution control, such as construction site manage-ment and requiring gas sta-tions to sell high-quality fuel to cut down on emissions into the atmosphere.

The ministry informed the municipal and provincial en-vironment departments on January 17 to cooperate with the sub-national administra-tions to implement measures to maintain good air quality in Cambodia.

These measures include wildfire prevention, prohibit-ing the burning of solid waste in the open and fires at land-fills.

“We must also have mea-sures to prevent emissions from construction sites and infrastructure improvements. We need to clean the streets and water the streets to pre-vent dust and educate people not to burn rubbish, solid waste, grass, stumps, walls and other agricultural waste,” Pheaktra said.

He said an increase of inert

particle concentration PM2.5 in the air happens in coun-tries in the region due to the dry climate.

According to the ministry, inert particles concentrations PM2.5 are tiny inert particles in the air with a diameter of fewer than 2.5 microns. Inert particles come from burn-ing fossil fuels and other dust particles. These inert parti-cles can be absorbed into the lungs and sometimes blood vessels and are harmful to human health if absorbed be-yond the limit.

National4 THE PHNOM PENH POST NovEMbEr 6, 2020 www.PHNOMPENHPOST.cOM

repairs underway for Phnom Penh’s flood-damaged roadsKhouth Sophak Chakrya

TWENTY-nine streets in Phnom Penh dam-aged during recent floods are undergo-

ing repair by the municipal administration in coopera-tion with the Ministry of Pub-lic Works and Transport.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday, the public works ministry said they include na-tional roads 2 and 3, Prey Sar Street and National road 20A from the Kuor Srov roundabout in the capital’s Dangkor district to the boundary with Kandal province’s Kandal Stung dis-trict. Street 217 from Prek Chrey bridge south to the Kuor Srov roundabout has been re-paired and opened to traffic, except for heavy vehicles.

A section of National road 4 from Kamboul village to o’Doem in Phnom Penh’s Kam-boul district has been repaired and is ready for traffic. The Prek Thnot dam in Dangkor district’s Spean Thma commune is also being repaired and will be able to resume normal traffic soon.

Heng Nguon, director of the municipal public works department’s road and bridge unit, told The Post: “our team is continuing to repair National road 4 and some streets in Dangkor district to allow people to travel.”

Nguon said repairs to na-tional roads 2, 3 and 4 are tem-porary for now. Final repairs and upgrades will be carried out after more evaluation.

Dangkor governor Kim Nhep told The Post the floods damaged nine paved roads in the district, several concrete foundations and some drain-age systems.

“These nines roads are being

repaved. Concrete roads were not severely damaged, but there are cracks in places be-cause the foundation is soft,” she said, adding big trucks are temporarily banned.

The municipal hall on Wednesday announced a plan to restore walls at boe-ung Tompun Lake and repair the Tompun Pumping Station in Meanchey district’s boeung

Tompun I commune.It said if the administration

does not take measures to pro-tect and restore the station, it could flood and can cause a fire.

According to a report from the National Committee for Disaster Management, recent flash floods affected 627km of national and unpaved roads in 19 provinces and killed 44 people.

Repairs around the city are underway after recent severe floods damaged 627km of national and unpaved roads. PHNOM PENH MUNICIPAL DEPARTMENT OF PUbLIC wORks AND TRANsPORT

The Ministry of Environment has installed 49 air quality monitors in 25 locations throughout the country. svAy RIENg ENvIRONMENT DEPARTMENT

Monitors installed as air quality shows slight decline

Voun Dara

MINISTEr of Information Khieu Kanharith encouraged disabled students not to view physical handicaps as obsta-cles to education.

He said the same applied for jobs as state and private institutions have earmarked two per cent of their work-force to hire disabled peo-ple.

He made the remarks while visiting teachers and disabled students at the Kampong Cham Special Education High school (KCSEHS) in Kampong Cham province’s Kampong Cham town on Tuesday.

“All state and private insti-tutions have earmarked two per cent of their positions for disabled people to work” he said.

Kanharith said recruitment exams for state officials are not being held this year be-cause of Covid-19, but the government is handing out cash to the disabled in need.

He said his working group has helped the KCSEHS for 17 years. In the last four years, the group has also helped or-phans with disabilities.

“We are happy to see blind, mute and deaf students study at universities and get good jobs,” he said.

The minister mentioned on

Wednesday a youth named Srun who landed a job at the battambang provincial infor-mation department.

“He is autistic but has a strong work ethic. He has car-ried out his work well like any able-bodied person. Life is a struggle. Those who have the will to struggle are successful ones,” Kanharith said.

KCSEHS principal Keo Phal-ly told The Post on Thursday there are 171 students with dis-abilities at the school. Among the students, 59 are blind and 112 are deaf. Phally said 29 KC-SEHS students are studying at colleges in Kampong Cham and Phnom Penh.

“The information minis-ter is encouraging students with disabilities. They have to study hard to have knowledge and skills, then their lives will be successful. Prime Minister [Hun Sen] also said disabilities are not obstacles to looking for a job, but what is important is knowledge,” Phally said.

Phally said special educa-tion schools teach students with disabilities according to the curriculum of the Minis-try of Education, Youth and Sport, but also add another disability skill to students. The schools also teach music and art, and provide listening and speaking training for hearing-impaired students.

Minister encourages disabled students to strive for employment

National 5THE PHNOM PENH POST november 6, 2020 www.PHNOMPENHPOST.cOM

Mom Kunthear

A mALAYSIAn life insurance Ceo has accused the Scuba nation Diving Centre in Preah Sihanouk province of leaving him alone at sea while on a snorkelling trip last month off Koh rong Sanloem Island.

Johnson Chai, the Ceo of Cam-bodia Life Insurance Plc (Camlife), reported the company to the Pro-fessional Association of Diving In-structors (PADI).

Chai told The Post that he and his friend signed up with a Scuba nation PADI-certified instructor named Juan Pierre Hoffman on october 30.

“At the second snorkelling spot, I was left alone after I was dropped off the boat with no in-formation. I was all by myself for 30 minutes and I was panicked and freaking out in the sea be-cause I do not swim at all and had made that known to the operator before I signed up,” he wrote.

Chai said the life jacket had only one working buckle and he had to hold on to it hard. He said he cramped up due to anxiety.

“To make matters worse, when the boat returned, I was greeted arrogantly by Juan Pierre who did not feel a bit sorry for his irrespon-sibility. I questioned him about my safety and he was so obnox-ious to reply that I should be oK with my life jacket,” he wrote.

Chai said he reported the expe-rience to the owner of Scuba na-tion. He said the owner, whom he identified only by his first name

Kelvin, responded promptly but in a very light manner without taking responsibility, although he casually apologised.

“This is a very serious matter and I urge PADI to evaluate the situation and take stern action against Juan Pierre Hoffmann if he is licensed by PADI. If he’s not, then he deceived us,” he wrote.

He said he hopes to hear from PADI on the assessment of this incident and the actions to be taken against Hoffman and Scuba nation.

Chai said he hopes this unfor-tunate experience will not hap-pen to another person. He also said that as a resident of Cambo-dia he has an obligation to safe-guard the tourism industry.

Scuba nation Diving Centre Cambodia did not answer The Post’s phone calls for com-ment, but in a text message it said: “Please send email to us, we will reply. Happy to help you. Thanks.”

The Post sent questions via email to the firm, but it did not reply.

Scuba nation advertises itself as Cambodia’s premier diving provider.

Its website said: “[We] have been safely satisfying the scuba diving needs of tourists, ex-pats, embassy personnel and locals since 2002. As the first PADI 5 Star Instructor Development Centre in Cambodia, Scuba nation has accommodated thousands of be-ginning and experienced divers from hundreds of countries.”

Scuba centre accusedof leaving man adrift

nGo: Untaxed cigarettes hurting health, economyLong Kimmarita

THe nGo Cambodia movement for Health (CmH) is concerned about health prob-

lems and economic losses from the loss of tax revenue after the royal University of Phnom Penh found early this year that 28 per cent of all imported cigarettes were sold in the Cambodian market without the proper stamp from the General Department of Customs and excise.

In a press release on novem-ber 5, the CmH said the un-taxed cigarettes included eSSe, Hero, oris and Gold Seal.

Citing interviews with ciga-rette sellers, the CmH said untaxed cigarettes were dis-tributed by cigarette compa-nies and bought directly from wholesalers. The sellers said the companies’ agents always distribute cigarettes to them. If no company agent comes to sell to them, they would buy di-rectly at the wholesale depot.

The press release said: “To-bacco use poses a serious risk to people’s health and causes great economic losses every year. About 15,000 Cambodi-ans die from diseases caused by tobacco use and about $656 million is lost.

CmH executive director mom Kong told The Post on

november 5 that Cambodia has the lowest tariffs on to-bacco products among ASe-An countries, which he said could lead to serious health and economic disasters.

According to research from the Un Development Pro-gramme (UnDP), the Frame-work Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the World Health organisation (WHo) and the nGo rIT Internation-al, unstamped and untaxed cigarettes contribute to the loss of government tax revenue.

The CmH said if the gov-ernment effectively prevent-ed tax evasion, Cambodia would receive an additional seven per cent tax revenue on the current tobacco tax.

ministry of economy and Finance spokesman meas Soksensan said there are mea-sures in place to prevent ille-gal products that evade taxes.

“First, the government has never encouraged the evasion of cigarette taxes, and second, it has never allowed the sale of products without tax stamps.

So this is something we con-tinue to fight,” he said.

Yel Daravuth, the tobacco control expert at the WHo’s office in Phnom Penh, said cigarettes without tax stamps were illegal.

“Illegal cigarettes are a ma-jor obstacle to tobacco con-trol in Cambodia. because it not only reduces the state tax revenue but also makes people more vulnerable to diseases caused by smoking due to increasing usage of tobacco,” he said.

The CMH said almost one third of all cigarettes sold in the Cambodian market lacked a proper stamp from the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s General Department of Customs and Excise. cmh

THE PHNOM PENH POST november 6, 2020 www.PHNOMPENHPOST.cOM6

BusinessUSD / KHR USD / CAD USD / CNY USD / JPY USD / MYR USD / SGD USD / THB AUD / USD EUR / USD GBP / USD

4,075 1.3127 6.6285 104.24 4.1495 1.3540 30.89 0.7214 1.1794 1.3041

Hin Pisei

SIX Chinese manufacturers plan to set up factories in Kampong Speu province to produce wom-en’s jewellery and cosmetics for export to the US, according to provincial governor vei Samnang.

“Soon Kampong Speu province will have six new factories that can provide employment oppor-tunities for at least 3,000 people,” Samnang said via social media on Wednesday night in what he called a new milestone for the province.

He told The Post on Thursday that the political stability and the strategic geographical location of Cambodia have wooed many an investor, especially in his up-and-coming southwestern province.

but he declined to reveal the name of the companies or the potential sites of their upcoming ventures for fear of adversely af-fecting the price of real estate in nearby areas with the news.

At the same time, he voiced his concerns over a potential labour shortage in the province that could arise if investment were to pour in too quickly.

royal Academy of Cambodia eco-nomics researcher Hong vanak said its proximity to Phnom Penh and the international seaports in Preah Sihanouk and Kampot provinces, as well as its easy accessibility from other provinces via national roads, work in Kampong Speu’s favour to pique interest from local and for-eign investors.

He said the province is a strong base for agricultural production, industry and cottage industries.

“Although its tourism sector leaves a lot to be desired, Kam-pong Speu will remain an im-portant destination for investors as it transforms into a suburb of Phnom Penh down the line as the capital continues to balloon,” vanak said.

According to Samnang, there are currently nearly 300 small and large-sized enterprises operating in the province and more than 100 in preparation, with a special economic zone (SeZ) now up and running.

With a name that means “Port of Star Fruits”, Kampong Speu is divided into seven districts and Chbar mon town which comprise 87 communes further composed of 1358 villages.

From east to west, national road 4 crosses the province’s Sam-rong Tong district, Chbar mon town and Phnom Sruoch district. It connects to Kandal province’s Ang Snuol district in the east and Preah Sihanouk’s Kampong Seila district in the west.

The provincial capital Chbar mon encompasses Chbar mon, Kandorl Dom, rokar Thom, Sopoa Tep, Svay Kravan communes which constitute 56 villages.

Six Chinese firms to set up factories in K Speu

russia committed to stepping up tradeMay Kunmakara

rUSSIA has reiterat-ed its commitment towards shoring up bilateral trade

volume and alluring more investment to Cambodia, helping pull the Kingdom’s economy out of post-Covid-19 doldrums.

The remarks were made during a meeting between newly-minted russian am-bassador to Cambodia Ana-toly borovik and minister of economy and Finance Aun Pornmoniroth at the minis-try on Wednesday.

This comes as the King-dom negotiates a free trade agreement (FTA) with the eurasian economic Union (eAeU), a common market comprised of five nations of the former Soviet Union – Ar-menia, belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and russia.

borovik said: “Seeing the potential of Cambodia, many russian companies, both large and medium, are inter-ested in and looking for op-portunities to invest in and do business in Cambodia.

“Going forward, the vol-ume of bilateral trade be-tween the two countries will see continued growth,” he said.

Aun Pornmoniroth thanked the russian government for its constant support during

the Kingdom’s struggle in the 1980s, which was devastated by a 12-year-long economic embargo imposed following its liberation from the geno-cidal Khmer rouge regime.

The former Soviet Union provided a lot of humanitar-ian assistance to Cambodia and actively participated in the ensuing process of peace building and socio-econom-ic development, he said.

Despite Covid-19, Cambo-dian-russian cooperation continues to run smoothly, especially in the fields of economy, trade, investment, education, health and cul-ture, he added.

“The Cambodian govern-ment is ready to further promote collaborations. It welcomes russians to invest more in the Kingdom to in-crease bilateral trade volume

and boost economic growth,” Pornmoniroth said.

Last march, Cambodia and russia signed 62 documents and 14 agreements to pro-mote economic, cultural and social cooperation.

bilateral trade between the two countries was to the tune of more than $55.39 million last year, sinking 40.44 per cent from the $93.00 million logged in 2018, the ministry

of Commerce reported.of the amount, Cambodia

exported some $51.70 mil-lion worth of products, up 27.08 per cent year-on-year, and imported $3.69 million.

meanwhile, the Kingdom exported $14.63 billion worth of products to international markets last year, up 12.7 per cent compared to 2018, the national bank of Cambodia reported.

In December, Sorasak pointed out that an FTA with the eAeU would provide a welcome impetus for indus-trial diversification and ex-pansion of financial services, transport, digital economy and agricultural services.

He was citing a commerce ministry report on the re-sults of its assessment of a potential FTA deal between Cambodia and the eAeU.

The eAeU represents a combined population of 183 million and a gross domestic product (GDP) of $5 trillion.

Sorasak said then: “An FTA will enable the two parties to increase economic coopera-tion, trade in goods, services and investment.

“We expect to increase trade and investment op-portunities and mutual in-vestment. Cambodia can increase its garments and textiles exports, agricultural products and other goods,” he said.

Russian ambassador to Cambodia Anatoly Borovik and Minister of Economy and Finance Aun Pornmoniroth meet at the ministry on Wednesday. FINANCE MINISTRY

State-run Sme bank soft-launches operationsThou Vireak

THe state-owned Small and medium enterprise bank of Cambodia Plc (Sme bank) on Thursday soft-launched banking operations, it said in a press release.

Sme bank described its mission as “to provide financing and commercial banking services in an effective and sus-tainable manner to support local small and medium-sized (Smes) with an objective to increase economic diversi-fication and expand export volume”.

It said it strives to provide four main value added benefits to the Sme com-munity – better and affordable access to financing; technical assistance to Smes to enhance their productivity and efficiency; downstreaming busi-ness advisory support; and facilitating access to regional markets.

Smes can borrow up to $200,000 for working capital and $300,000 for invest-ment capital with a maximum interest rate of seven per cent per year and a repayment period of seven years.

Sme bank stressed that it “aspires to be consistent and align itself with the strategic goal of the royal Govern-ment of Cambodia”.

“As set out under the Cambodia Industrial Development Policy 2015-2025, the bank will provide better and affordable access to financing for Smes in key priority sectors – food

manufacturing and processing; man-ufacturing of local consumption goods, waste recycling and produc-tion of goods for the tourism sector.

“[Additional priority sectors include] manufacturing of finished products, spare parts or assembling parts to supply other manufacturers; r&D [research and development] associ-ated with IT [information technology] or the supply of IT-based services; and enterprises located in Sme cluster zones and enterprises developing the cluster zone,” it said.

Sme bank said it offers a wide-range of Sme-tailored loan products and services under government initiatives such as the Smes Co-Financing Scheme (SCFS) and Cambodia Sme Scheme (CSS).

“The bank will also be extending various loan schemes, [such as the] Cambodia Women entrepreneurs Scheme [CWeS] and Cambodia Dig-ital & Automation Scheme [CDAS] in the coming months.

“In addition to the above products and services that are offered to Smes, Sme bank of Cambodia is glad to introduce other banking services comprising Sav-ings Account, Junior Saver Account, retirement Account, Current Account and Term Deposit Account,” it said.

Sme bank Ceo Dexter Tan in June said the bank had allocated about 10 per cent of its total capital to Smes,

adding that he hoped that the full $100 million would be released by the end of the year.

There are currently 33 financial insti-tutions involved in the SCFS – Sme bank, 23 commercial banks, two spe-cialised banks, five microfinance

deposit-taking institutions (mDIs) and two microfinance institutions (mFIs).

Sme bank is located at #30, Pasteur Street (Street 51) on the corner of Prey nokor Street (Street 126) in Daun Penh district’s Phsar Thmey I com-mune in Phnom Penh.

SMEs can borrow up to $200,000 for working capital and $300,000 for investment capital with a maximum interest rate of seven per cent per year and a repayment period of seven years. pOST STAFF

Business7THE PHNOM PENH POST november 6, 2020 www.PHNOMPENHPOST.cOM

Acleda lifts lives of flood victims Responding to the Post Flood Relief Campaign launched last month, Acleda Bank Plc has stepped in to help raise funds for those affected by the recent natural disaster. Present at Thursday’s event were The Phnom Penh Post publisher and CEO Ly Tayseng, and commercial manager Chap Narith, while Acleda was presented by its senior vice-president and head of financial services division Neth Piseth. Those interested can donate online or make their payments using the bank’s QR code, which can be found on page three.

THAILAnD’S board of Invest-ment (boI) on Wednesday ap-proved a package of incentives for Thailand’s electric-vehicle (ev) manufacturing supply chain, with a focus on critical parts including batteries.

The board also approved ev-related projects worth 35.7 billion baht ($1.16 bil-lion) in several sectors.

After a board meeting chaired by Prime minister Pr-ayut Chan-o-cha, boI secre-tary-general Duangjai Asawa-chintachit said the package would accelerate the devel-opment of ev production in Thailand and allow the sector to move into higher gear.

The ev incentive measures replace the first package which expired in 2018.

They cover cars, buses, trucks, motorcycles and ships.

For cars: Corporate tax holi-days of three years for plug-in hybrid (PHev) projects and eight years for battery electric (bev) projects with at least five billion baht invested – extend-able for research and develop-ment (r&D) investment in bev.

Projects worth less than five billion baht are eligible for three-year tax holidays – extendable for bev projects that start by 2022, produce additional parts, produce at least 10,000 units within three years, or invest in r&D.

For motorcycles, three-wheelers, buses and trucks: Three-year tax holiday, extend-

able under certain conditions.electric-powered ship pro-

duction projects, for vessels with less than 500 gross tonnage, are eligible for eight years of corpo-rate income tax exemption.

The boI also added four more components to its list of critical ev parts – high volt-age harness, reduction gear, battery cooling system and regenerative braking system. manufacturers of these com-ponents all receive eight-year corporate tax exemptions.

To promote local ev battery production, the boI approved additional incentives for the production of both battery modules and battery cells for the domestic market by granting a 90 per cent reduc-tion of import duties for two years on raw materials not available locally.

The boI has already approved 26 ev manufacturing projects with a combined production capacity of over 566,000 units per year. Five are for hybrid electric vehicles (Hevs), six for PHevs, 13 for bevs, and two for electric buses.

Seven have started com-mercial operations – nissan, Honda and Toyota for Hevs; mercedes benz and bmW for PHevs; and newcomers Fomm and Takano for bevs.

The agency also approved 14 projects to make critical parts for evs, including 10 battery production plants. THE NATION

(THAILAND)/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

Thailand approves ev perks, $1.1b in projects

Cambodian bikes rolling all overThou Vireak

THe Kingdom’s bicycle exports totalled more than $379 million during the first nine

months of the year, up 28.92 per cent compared to the same period last year, the state media service Agence Kampu-chea Presse (AKP) reported.

Citing data from the ministry of Commerce, AKP said more than 1.5 million bicycles were shipped during the period, with the US importing the lion’s share at more than half a million.

ranet, from real estate news portal Property Area Asia, re-ported that the Kingdom ex-ported “more than 550,000” bicycles to the world’s largest economy in nominal terms, also citing the ministry.

elsewhere, 360,000 bikes were sold to Germany, 270,000 to the UK and 150,000 to belgium. The netherlands imported 90,000 while Australia bought 100,000 bikes, according to AKP.

ministry of Commerce spokesman Seang Thay told The Post that Cambodia’s bi-cycle exports remained nor-mal despite Covid-19.

He claimed that from Janu-ary to September, bicycle ex-ports increased by more than $85 million compared to the same period last year.

“minister of Commerce Pan Sorasak sent a letter to all buy-ers to continue accepting or-dered goods from Cambodia.

“Cambodia has retained its capacity to produce de-

spite the Covid-19 situation. Thank you to all the buyers for accepting the minister’s request,” Thay said.

Cambodia Chamber of Commerce vice-president Lim Heng told The Post that bi-cycles were in vogue because they reduced air pollution in urban areas and provided a chance to exercise for people cooped up by Covid-19.

bicycles’ rising popularity pushed the Kingdom to keep up with the added global de-mand, he said.

“The increase of the King-dom’s bicycle exports dur-ing the period reflects on the good investment climate in Cambodia,” Heng said.

overall, bilateral trade be-

tween Cambodia and the US reached more than $5 billion in the first nine months of the year, up 16 per cent compared to the same period from last year, according to figures from the US Census bureau.

The figures show that the Kingdom exported $4.82 bil-lion worth of products, up 22 per cent year-on-year and Cambodia imported $232 million from the US, down 42 per cent year-on-year.

Speaking at the third edition of the Indo-Pacific business Fo-rum (IPbF) last week, US am-bassador to Cambodia Patrick murphy noted that the King-dom is a regular benefactor of US products and services.

He said the Cambodian pri-

vate sector actively works with the US government and its agen-cies to create financing vehicles and grow their businesses.

He highlighted the dramatic growth in US-bound Cambo-dian exports in recent years.

The US is the largest market for Cambodian exports, tak-ing in $5.4 billion last year, up from $3 billion in 2015, mur-phy previously said.

According to the national bank of Cambodia, the US accounted for $10.9 billion (or 29 per cent) of Cambo-dian exports from January-September last year. The Kingdom accounted for just two per cent of US exports during the period, worth $16.5 million.

Cambodia exported more than 1.5 million bicycles worth over $379 million in January-September. pOST STAFF

8 THE PHNOM PENH POST november 6, 2020 www.PHNOMPENHPOST.cOM

reportSpecial reportrelaxing policies, fixing quirks to rouse

a sleeping tourism sectorCambodia’s special tourist policy to revive the economic segment aims to attract investors to its ‘great tourism zone’ but can it finally solve long-drawn setbacks in time?Sangeetha Amarthalingam

a Special tourist pol-icy draft has wafted to the surface which has got the business

community talking. if every-thing goes according to plan, the policy will be implement-ed early next year.

the cleverly-worded poli-cy, which was jointly drafted with the ministry of tourism aims to kill two birds with one stone – that is, to boost tour-ism and investment via the “great tourism zone”.

it has five key strategies that identify the special tourist market, how to organise new tourism habits, grow foreign and local investments in the zone, risk management, and the provision of incentives and rights to special tourists.

the policy looks at adding value to the sector by attract-ing various classes of tourists including long-stays, repeats, and high spenders.

Deemed the “special tour-ist”, this person comes with “resources”, a socio-economic mindset and goal to add value to cambodia’s tourist destina-tions, particularly by investing in the great tourism zone.

“[the tourist] will be qual-ified as a client of the zone,” it read.

the zone is defined by a 2019 sub-decree as measuring no less than 100ha with accom-modation, food and bever-age outlets, parks, sports and healthcare centres, and other tourism-related facilities.

it is seen as an “appro-priate” solution to resolve many challenges including the spread of covid-19, and housing tourists under well-organised management.

through the policy, the spe-cial tourist will play a pivotal role in attracting three cat-egories of tourists – regular visitors, business travellers, and those visiting families.

on the surface, there might seem only a smidge of differ-

ence relating to visa specifica-tions but a deeper look at the wordings shows a likelihood of policy relaxation on prop-erty ownership and business procedure. For example, the draft places emphasis on at-tracting the special tourist due to competition in the region. therefore, it is pertinent to grant them special rights, and facilitate visa, transportation, accommodation, business, and investment within the tar-geted tourism destinations. it would seem that this privilege is only bestowed to investors in the great tourism zone.

When asked what this meant, ministry of tourism (mot) spokesman top So-pheak said: “We want to push this policy to make it more comfortable for tourists to do business or buy land. cur-rently, foreigners can only buy property from the first floor up.

“We are working on a reso-lution to ease [this] and busi-ness procedures.” He did not elaborate despite several re-quests to do so.

Purchase, rent and sellFor years, a high influx of

foreign nationals had been re-corded by the cambodian im-migration as investors and em-ployees in the sprawling real estate and hospitality sector.

Hence, the reason why travel agent cheav ly Heng, whose decade-old firm caters mostly to chinese tourists, felt it might be similar to the current arrangement where foreign nationals such as chi-nese, Japanese and South Ko-reans come to stay and invest.

When it comes to visa ap-plications, the draft states that the special tourist would be entitled to a multiple entry visa, visa exemption or right to long stay.

on property entitlement, the special tourist has the right to possession or enjoy-ment of a co-owned building or residence, as in a second

home in the zone, and trans-fer of ownership.

Similarly, they can pur-chase, rent, sell or do busi-ness on their real estate with-in the zone.

before covid-19, northeast asian nationals were able to ac-quire a one to three-year visa on arrival with multiple entries, for a fee of between $50 and $100.

“they come here to work and invest in the country but can only stay for 30 days each time they enter but due to the pandemic, the government stopped issuing visas on arrival. now, visitors have to first apply for long-term visas in their own country,” said ly Heng.

With the new policy, he thinks the visa could cost

more although this detail is not publicly known as yet.

Going by a similar policy introduced by thailand in october, indications are that visa fees have surged in the neighbouring State.

Quoting a thai visa agent, nikkei asia wrote that spe-cial tourists might have to fork out at least 150,000 baht, which is a 15-fold increase from around 10,000 baht be-fore the pandemic.

Having said that, thailand continues to attract chinese visitors – a trait shared by cam-bodia that experienced unend-ing arrivals of chinese nation-als during the covid-19 crisis.

of course, this is also reflec-tive of china’s major invest-

ments in cambodia of up to 40 per cent in 2019, making it the largest foreign investor.

in the first nine months of this year, nearly a third or 302,826 visitors of the diminished tour-ist numbers were chinese.

of that, chinese business travellers weighed slightly more than holidaymakers, which brings to light the question whether the special tourist plan would harness the existing chinese market.

“the chinese are a huge market. they travel the world. We will first [capitalise] high-class tourists and other coun-tries [such as] Japan, Korea and neighbouring countries,” said Sopheak.

Challenges to the forelike everywhere else, the

travel sector in cambodia has been stark. the number of for-eign arrivals plunged 74 per cent to 1.2 million between January and September this year from 4.8 million in the same period in 2019.

last year, the government envisioned total arrivals to grow to 7.5 million in 2020 from 6.6 million. the erasure in arrivals translates to an estimated $5 billion wipeout in tourism revenue. at the same time, some one million people including those indi-rectly affected experienced the brunt of the effect as some 3,000 tourism-related establishments closed down

or were suspended.So, the special tourist policy

is a silver lining. First, it has to iron out the quirks. it is also where the challenge lies.

industry players foresee that a failure to reach a consensus could result in the well-drawn up document ending its days in a dusty cupboard.

For now, discussions within the ministry are complete. “the next step is to open the dialogue to relevant ministries and industries to improve the draft. So, we are far from fin-ished,” Sopheak told The Post.

that being said, there is much to be done in less than two months to 2021.

Within the great tourism zone, it has to tackle inter-sector challenges, limitations of the health system and infra-structure, high electricity tar-iffs and interest rates of devel-opment loans, land matters, and lack of technical skills.

“[these] must be taken care of, to meet the zone’s require-ment,” the document read.

in the past, the alleged set-back with the implementa-tion of cambodia’s policies has been the lack of inter-ministerial coordination, will and expertise.

cambodia chamber of commerce vice president lim Heng agreed that people were concerned about the problem but quickly defended the pol-icy as being better than what was commonly believed.

Cambodians take delight in the King’s coronation day fireworks on a solemn evening as global tourism stays glum. Yousos ApdoulrAshim

International Tourist Arrivals to cambodia

Source: Tourism Statistics Department, MOT.

He said the issue on the lack of coordination among ministries can be raised by luu meng, the co-chair of the private sector working group on tourism, with tourism minister thong Korn, who is the other chairman.

“if the tourism sector has a problem, it can bring it up with luu meng, whether it is about the eU crisis, [busi-ness] fees and under table fees. i think we can solve this problem,” he said.

However, local entrepre-neur and public-private part-nership concept advocate Da-vid van, while commending the private sector for “work-ing hard” with the ministry to draw up the policy, said put-ting up a well-written policy is the easiest part compared to implementation.

“it must come with ad-equate policy measures that facilitate the process, includ-ing a cohesive integrated ap-proach through all relevant ministries,” he advised, pointing out that the reality of a pre-covid mass tourism rebound is only likely to hap-pen around 2023 to 2025.

Similarly, structural chal-lenges including limited digital connectivity and lack of packaged tourism service providers, which are well-known, can be stumbling blocks to any effort to up-grade and develop cambo-dian tourism away from the existing main attractions.

“these problems must be ad-dressed under a complete gov-ernment approach,” said econ-omist Dr chheng Kimlong.

nonetheless, he found that progress is being made on private land rights and high bank loan interests although they remain an issue.

Spread out the zonein 2019, tourism accounted

for 21 per cent of gross do-mestic product – a contri-bution that has been rising, although the World bank said a recent slowdown in the sector’s growth pointed to a need to diversify.

in the July report Enabling ecotourism development in Cambodia, the staff of the World bank found that ang-kor Wat visitor numbers had declined by 10 per cent over the past three years.

the dipping trend of visi-tors from key markets such as South Korea and Japan equal-ly impacted overall tourist figures and expenditure.

“average daily spending of tourists has declined by about 18 per cent which in-dustry experts noted is due to low tourism destination and product diversification,” the report said.

it has been a contention for a while now, which is why the World bank proposed that cambodia invest in eco-tourism development while helping nurse the sector back to recovery after covid-19.

While the government has previously acknowledged the need to diversify, the special tourist policy’s great tourism zone is expected to fix the di-versification bit by introduc-ing new tourism products.

“[it is] a great initiative,”

thourn Sinan, chairman of the cambodian chapter of the pacific asia travel asso-ciation enthused.

nevertheless, he suggested that the products should not only be in the great tourism zone, seeing that domestic tourism has grown despite covid-19.

His assertion was support-ed by recent data showing 645,000 people, mostly locals, taking advantage of the Wa-ter Festival holidays to visit other provinces and sites.

Hence the reason why the zone should be spread out in cambodia as it helps to grow the rural economy which will directly benefit the people, Sinan said.

Travel bubble, 2021in the meantime, travel

bubble arrangements with Southeast asia are pending on the back of a ministerial committee meeting expected late november.

the meeting will be led by the ministry of Health, fol-lowing which the travel bub-ble draft will be submitted for approval.

“We aim to implement it by the first quarter of 2021,” Sopheak said. in any case, he contends that it is only a short-term measure, un-like the special tourist policy which is being built to last.

but the government has to first overcome a string of structural problems. can it?

“it should not be a prob-lem. if we have a problem, we will find a solution,” Sopheak stressed.

9THE PHNOM PENH POST november 6, 2020 www.PHNOMPENHPOST.cOM

Special report

Top ten markets arrivals in September 2020

Source: Tourism Statistics Department, MOT.

Top ten markets arrivals in January - September 2020

Source: Tourism Statistics Department, MOT

Part of the ethos of Knai Bang Chatt is to continually grow to offer its guests a truly

inspiring “guilt free” experi-ence, to enjoy the finest things in life while caring for the environment.

and having already been internationally certified sustain-able to the highest level by a leading global sustainable tour-ism and corporate social respon-sibility organisation, the luxury resort in Kep is now preparing a handbook with the UN Develop-ment Programme (UNDP).

One of only a few hotels in the world to have earned the highest platinum standard from GreenGrowth 2050, Knai Bang Chatt is now leading the way in eco-friendly operations by passing on its sustainability model for others in all sectors to follow.

GreenGrowth 2050 is a Global Sustainable tourism council recognised standard.

“at Knai Bang Chatt, we are focused on creation, community and making a positive impact. We are now collaborating with the UNDP and local authori-ties to create a handbook to promote circular economy and best practices that will be avail-able for all in the public and private sectors,” said Knai Bang Chatt general manager Estelle Bergandi.

the handbook – on schedule for completion by the end of the year – will outline how by using green strategies correctly, any business can improve ef-ficiencies, reduce waste, build public image and save money.

With the new generation of travellers refusing to book ho-tels that are not environmen-tally friendly, it is imperative that those in the industry adopt a sustainable model, Bergandi added.

“the ultimate goal of a green business initiative is to create a sustainable environ-ment that is conducive to growth. With climate change already affecting all of us, integrating circular economic templates is the new normal.

“For me it starts with impact. It is amazing to be part of a resort that can show it truly cares about its visitors and the environment around it, and be able to educate and demonstrate the potential for growth.

“It is incredible to be able to show people the produce from our garden and demonstrate how circular the process is – to be able to say that that lettuce they are about to eat came from that wasted cauliflower and have them feel the compost is so reward-ing. these little things make a huge difference,” she said.

and Knai Bang Chatt contin-ues to educate by running work-shops demonstrating the benefits of a sustainable business model.

“Word of what we are doing here spread, and we received requests from a number of top Phnom Penh hotels to make presentations they were such a success that we realised we have to run workshops to be able

share how we are making a dif-ference, and how others can too.

“I truly believe that as word spreads and momentum builds, it is through education on how people can care for their sur-roundings, for their land, that real change is made.

“With this collaboration with the UNDP, running workshops with them and being sponsored by them, to be able to educate as much as we possibly can is something I think we can be proud of,” Bergandi said.

‘Barefoot luxury’Using simple techniques such

as upcycling, recycling and composting, Knai Bang Chatt can ensure that around 70 per cent of its waste does not end up in a landfill.

the compost Knai Bang Chatt produces is used on its biodiverse organic gardens, which currently provide the resort with a sizeable proportion of its vegetable produce, fresh fruit and fresh herbs.

One hundred per cent plastic free, Knai Bang Chatt’s sustain-ability model clearly dem-

onstrates why the resort is rapidly gaining a reputation for “barefoot luxury”.

Situated right on the beach in Kep, the Knai Bang Chatt philosophy is “to provide the opportu-nity to travel in luxury

without guilt, to feel reju-venated while inspiring the

senses, and to enjoy the finest things in life without damag-ing nature”.

From the warm and profes-

sional welcome as you arrive at reception and the small-est attention to detail from the housekeeping staff, to its “inclusive and adventurous” locally inspired cuisine, it is immediately apparent that Knai Bang Chatt is a luxury destina-tion with a difference.

and it is not just guests who can enjoy all that’s on offer, with visitors able to book a table at its superb the Strand restaurant, dine or have a drink at the Sailing Club or relax at the Lounge – all while enjoying stunning sea views.

those seeking more excite-ment can take advantage of the range of activities available at the Discovery Centre, includ-ing sunset cruises and sailing courses, with countryside adventures also on offer.

“Food is part of the memory here at Knai Bang Chatt. I write all menus based on three prin-ciples – taste, texture and feel. Food will always be subjective, so my method is to be inclusive and adventurous. Each dish

must tell a story, from the hamburger to the local crab,” said executive chef Jay Scaife.

With dining so integral to the Knai Bang Chatt experi-ence, the Strand has introduced “Morning Bites” – the “ultimate breakfast experience” – seven days a week for an asian-Euro-pean buffet and extra a la carte menu. among other culinary innovations, the Sailing Club is serving “Sunday Brunch by the Sea” from 11am-3pm all high season long.

It is this ethos of constant reinvention to refine its offer-ings with a focus on purity that sees Knai Bang Chatt continue to grow, with passion fuelling its successes, says Bergandi.

“We always take the time to reflect on the things that are important to us and what val-ues we wish to stand for. and for all we do here, it is our team that our guests remember the most. It’s their joy, passion and kindness that our clients experi-ence every day, and why they return,” the Parisian said.

Sustainable Knai Bang Chatt leading the way with UNDP green handbook

10 THE PHNOM PENH POST November 6 , 2020 www.PHNOMPENHPOST.cOM

www.phnompenhpost.com/post-focus eco-tourism

Knai Bang Chatt has earned platinum standard international certification for sustainability. Joe curtin Knai Bang Chatt is 100 per cent plastic free. Joe curtin

The luxury resort offers a truly ‘guilt free’ experience. Joe curtin

executive chef Jay Scaife. Joe curtin ADVe

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General manager estelle Bergandi. suppLieD

THE PHNOM PENH POST november 6, 2020 www.PHNOMPENHPOST.cOM 11

worldbiden takes big step to winning presidency, Trump claims fraudD

emocraT Joe biden took a huge step on Wednesday to capturing the White

House, with wins in michigan and Wisconsin bringing him close to a majority, but Presi-dent Donald Trump responded with fury as his campaign sued to suspend vote counting.

In a brief address on na-tional television, flanked by american flags and his vice presidential pick Kamala Har-ris, biden said he wasn’t yet de-claring victory, but that “when the count is finished, we be-lieve we will be the winners.”

by flipping the northern battlegrounds of michigan and Wisconsin, biden reached 264 electoral votes against 214 so far for Trump. by adding the six of nevada, where he is narrow-ly ahead, or the larger prizes of hard-fought Georgia or Penn-sylvania, biden would hit the magic number of 270 needed to win the White House.

In stark contrast to Trump’s increasingly heated rhetoric about being cheated, biden sought to project calm, reach-ing out to a nation torn by four years of polarising leadership and traumatised by the covid-19 pandemic, with new daily in-fections on Wednesday close to hitting 100,000 for the first time.

“I know how deep and hard the opposing views are in our country on so many things,” biden, 77, said.

“but I also know this as well: to make progress we have to stop treating our opponents as enemies. We are not en-emies. What brings us togeth-er as americans is so much stronger than anything that can tear us apart.”

american presidential elec-tions are decided not by the popular vote but by securing a majority in the state-by-state electoral college, which has 538 members.

US media organisations called michigan for biden where he had a lead of some 120,000 votes. earlier, biden claimed Wisconsin, with a narrower but insurmountable lead.

The two states, along with arizona – another that biden was projected to flip – put the Democrat within arm’s reach of making Trump the first one-term president in 28 years.

However, Trump, 74, claimed victory unilaterally and made clear he would not accept the reported results, issuing unprecedented com-plaints – unsupported by any evidence – of fraud.

“The damage has already been done to the integrity of our system, and to the Presidential election itself,” he tweeted, alleging without proof or explanation that “se-cretly dumped ballots” had been added in michigan.

Trump’s campaign an-nounced lawsuits in michi-gan, Pennsylvania and Geor-gia and demanded a recount in Wisconsin.

In michigan, the campaign filed a suit to halt vote tabu-lation, saying its “observers” were not allowed to watch at close distances.

In Detroit, a Democratic

stronghold that is majority black, a crowd of mostly-white Trump supporters chanted “Stop the count!” and tried to barge into an election office be-fore being blocked by security.

The Trump campaign said it was also suing to halt the counting of votes in Penn-sylvania – after the president called overnight for Supreme court intervention to exclude the processing of mail-in bal-lots after the close of polls.

and it demanded a recount in Wisconsin, citing unspeci-fied “irregularities.”

The president’s personal lawyer, former new York mayor rudy Giuliani, ac-cused Democrats of sending in fraudulent ballots. He also provided no evidence.

“This is the way they intend to win,” Giuliani told reporters in Pennsylvania’s largest city Philadelphia. “We’re not going to let them get away with it.”

Trump campaign manager bill Stepien claimed they had won in Pennsylvania, despite the result still being calcu-lated, and he rejected the call giving biden a win in arizona.

In a reversal of roles, the US election brought statements of international concern, with German defence minister an-

negret Kramp-Karrenbauer warning of a “very explosive situation” that could create a “constitutional crisis.”

an observer mission from the organisation for Security and cooperation in europe, which monitors votes around the West and former Soviet Union, found no evidence of election fraud and said that Trump’s “baseless allegations” eroded trust in democracy.

The most crucial – and messiest – contest may yet wind up being in Pennsylva-nia, where Trump’s lead had narrowed to 200,000 votes.

“We have to be patient,” said Tom Wolf, the Democrat-ic governor of the state where republican lawmakers had prevented millions of mail-in ballots from being counted before election Day.

“They’re going to be count-ed accurately and they will be counted fully,” Wolf told reporters.

The race also tightened in Georgia, a state once seen as solidly republican, where Trump was up by just under 40,000 votes.

richard barron, election di-rector of heavily Democratic Fulton county, which includes atlanta, told reporters in the counting room that he hoped to finish later on Wednesday.

The tight White House race and recriminations evoked memories of the 2000 election between republican George W bush and Democrat al Gore.

That race, which hinged on a handful of votes in Florida, eventually ended up in the Su-preme court, which halted a recount while bush was ahead.

The US elections Project estimated total turnout at a record 160 million including more than 101.1 million early voters, 65.2 million of whom cast ballots by mail amid the pandemic. AFP

afghan university attack survivor tells how militants shot pupils ‘one by one’STUDenTS were gunned down “one by one” as they leapt from the windows of Kabul University classrooms when militants stormed the campus earlier this week, a survivor told aFP on Wednes-day.

officials said at least 22 peo-ple were killed and another 27 wounded when three gunmen rampaged through the univer-sity on monday, spraying classrooms with bullets in an assault claimed by the jihadist Islamic State (IS) group.

The government insisted on Wednesday that the Taliban were responsible, blaming an offshoot known as the Haqqa-ni network.

mohammad Qasim Kohista-ni, studying public policy at the university, described how the seven-hour attack unfold-ed at one of afghanistan’s top educational institutions.

“We were waiting for our teacher . . . suddenly, we heard loud sounds coming from the first floor,” said the 22-year-old, who was in a second-floor classroom.

“We knew something was wrong; we started jumping from the windows.”

Kohistani and some friends took refuge under a window ledge, a bloody scene unravel-ling above them, as the assail-ants went room to room searching for victims.

“after a gunman took over our class he started shooting fleeing students from the win-dow,” said Kohistani.

“The other gunmen were shooting students one by one from close range,” he added.

Hundreds of students fled – some scrambling over perim-eter walls and onto the streets,

others barricading themselves inside rooms until being res-cued by afghan special forces.

among those killed was Kohistani’s best friend, ahmad ali, who stopped to help a female classmate, roqia.

“He didn’t jump from the window because roqia had fainted,” he explained.

“He wanted to save her but the gunman shot both of them in the head.”

Kohistani, who sprained a leg when he jumped, hid for hours on campus.

“It was the most horrible moment of my life,” he said.

“all through the day we were hearing their wails and cries for help but we were helpless.”

Kohistani said the attackers had killed everyone in a class-room below his.

“I am still in trauma,” he said. “Yesterday, I was not even able to talk.”

officials said two attackers were shot dead by security forces, while a third blew him-self up during the assault.

The attack was claimed by IS, the second such assault on an educational centre in less than two weeks in the capital.

but the government said the Taliban were responsible.

“The organisers of this attack are from the Haqqani network . . . and Haqqani network is an inseparable part of the Tali-ban,” interior ministry spokes-man Tariq arian said in a state-ment.

The shadowy network has long been accused of carrying out brutal assaults on Western troops and civilians, and has been branded a terrorist group by Washington.

The Taliban have denied involvement. AFP

Int’l criminal court chief prosecutor calls on Kenya to hand over suspectsInTernaTIonaL criminal court (Icc) chief prosecutor Fatou ben-souda called on Kenya on Wednesday to hand over two men suspected of interfering with prosecution witness-es, after another suspect surrendered to the tribunal earlier this week.

Kenyan lawyer Paul Gicheru hand-ed himself over on monday and is to make an initial appearance before judges at the Hague-based Icc on Friday, court officials confirmed.

Gicheru is facing charges of brib-ing six prosecution witnesses in an Icc crimes against humanity case against Kenyan Deputy President William ruto.

Two other men, Philip Kipkoech bett and Walter barasa are also want-ed on similar accusations.

“I call on the Kenyan authorities to fulfil their obligations under the rome

Statute to ensure the surrender of the remaining two suspects to the custody of the court,” bensouda said in a state-ment, issued late on Wednesday.

This is “so that their guilt or inno-cence on the charges against them may be determined in a court of law,” she said.

bensouda in 2016 and 2014 dropped cases against ruto and Kenyan Pres-ident Uhuru Kenyatta after investiga-tions collapsed against the two senior Kenyan leaders.

bensouda blamed “a relentless campaign to identify individuals who could serve as prosecution wit-nesses in the case en ensure they don’t testify,” as the main reason for her decision to drop the charges against ruto.

In Kenyatta’s case, there was not enough evidence to prosecute him,

bensouda said at the time.both men were wanted by the court

for their alleged roles in 2007-2008 post-election violence that rocked the east african country.

both Kenyatta and ruto strenu-ously denied the prosecution’s claims against them.

more than 1,300 people died and some 600,000 others were left home-less after disputed elections in Ken-ya’s worst wave of violence since independence from britain in 1963.

bensouda on Wednesday said the “integrity of witnesses is essential for the court’s determination of the truth,” adding her office would con-tinue to probe and prosecute “indi-viduals who attempt to pervert the course of justice by interfering with Icc witnesses.” AFP

US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden arrives to speak at the Chase Centre in Wilmington, Delaware, on Wednesday. AFP

ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda gives a press conference in Sudan’s capital Khartoum on October 20 at the conclusion of her five-day visit to the country. AFP

MyanMar Com-mander-in-Chief of Defence Ser-vices Senior Gen-

eral Min aung Hlaing has said although he used to talk in the 2015 election about acceptance of the election results as soon as the Election Commission an-nounces a free and fair election, he had to issue a warning as the time of caution has come now.

The military chief made the comment during an interview with the Popular News Journal on november 3. He was asked about the statement on the military’s stance on the election issued by the Office of the Com-mander-in-Chief of Defence Services issued on november 2.

“When I was casting my vote in the 2015 general elec-tion, I was asked in an inter-view. I said the commission will have election results if the election is free and fair. Then I must accept that. I used to talk about this. But now the time has come for us to stay alert. We have to take care. I don’t want that to happen. It’s just a warning,” said Senior General Min aung Hlaing.

The constitution states that the military is responsible for protecting the state as well as the constitution. Thus, the warning of the military is in conformity with the law, he added.

He said the country is on the path to democracy in line with its constitution while the country itself is built with this constitution. Therefore, the military is responsible for saying this, he said.

He also questioned if any-one else talks about this un-less the military does so.

“The international commu-

nity is also criticising us. Our country must have its dignity. It cannot be harmed. This is why I said so. I rarely say so. I warn this as I don’t want that to happen. It is the govern-ment that will take responsi-bility,” the military chief com-mented.

as election is crucial in de-mocracy, election must be sys-

tematic and disciplined and otherwise, stable democracy cannot be achieved, he said.

In the military’s statement issued on november 2, it claimed that the Union Elec-tion Commission, along with the Union government, had been unable to hold a free and fair general election. ElEvEn ME-

dia (MyanMar)/asia nEws nEtwork

12 THE PHNOM PENH POST nOvEMBEr 6, 2020 www.PHNOMPENHPOST.cOM

ASEAN

Myanmar military’s election statement ‘came as precaution’

Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. tatMadaw truE nEws inforMation tEaM

vIETnaMESE Deputy Minister of Foreign affairs nguyen Quoc Dung stressed the need to pro-mote “dialogue and coopera-tion between aSEan and China in ensuring just and humane treatment of fishermen,” espe-cially those who are in danger, as a priority area of cooperation between the two sides.

He made the statement at the “Workshop on Promoting Coop-eration in Ensuring Just and Hu-mane Treatment of Fishermen in the South China Sea” held on Tuesday in Hanoi, an initiative of vietnam under the aSEan-China Joint Working Group on the Implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (JWG-DOC), with the proposals and recommendations from the experts to be reported to aSE-an-China officials’ channels on DOC implementation.

among the sea-going groups of people in the South China Sea (known in vietnam as the East Sea), fishermen are par-ticularly vulnerable to dangers or distress situations at sea, in-cluding increasingly complex weather patterns and frequen-cy of natural disaster, accidents and collisions, Dung said.

“Over the past years, aSEan member states and China have undertaken various efforts in providing assistance and en-suring humane treatment to fishermen, including through their implementation of exist-

ing instruments related to safe-ty at sea,” Dung said.

In 2010, the aSEan Foreign Ministers issued the aSEan Declaration on Cooperation in Search and rescue of Persons and vessels in Distress at Sea, which demonstrates aSEan’s political will to reinforce coop-eration in providing mutual as-sistance to persons and vessels in distress at sea, he added.

It should be acknowledged that protection and provision of just, humane treatment to fishermen are cross-sectoral in nature, which requires a holistic approach to address, the vietnamese diplomat said, acknowledging that there re-mains a certain difference in each others’ understanding of the issue, which results in a different application of law enforcement practice.

In this context, the coopera-tion between China and aSEan to promote the issue as one of the “confidence-building mea-sures” to implement the DOC, as well as to serve the benefits of fishing communities and the people as a whole in the region.

nearly 200 million people depend on fishery resources of the South China Sea for their livelihood, heard the workshop.

aSEan representatives said that fisheries activities in their countries are mostly small scale, and the risks the fishermen face need long-term support. viEt naM

nEws/asia nEws nEtwork

Official: Humane treatment of fishermen a ‘priority’ in aSEan-China cooperation

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13THE PHNOM PENH POST november 6, 2020 www.PHNOMPENHPOST.cOM

Opinion

THe publicity of the judicial process is a fundamental princi-ple to ensure trans-

parency and trust in the judi-ciary. It encompasses public hearings, pronouncements and the publication of judi-cial decisions, and is recog-nised in both national and international laws.

Article 31 of the Kingdom’s Constitution recognises and respects human rights as enshrined in the Un Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human rights (UDHr), and all treaties and conventions related to human rights, women’s rights, and chil-dren’s rights.

Article 10 of the UDHr states: “everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an inde-pendent and impartial tribu-nal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.”

Article 11 stipulates: “[1] everyone charged with a criminal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.”

Through the provision of the two articles, Cambodian courts shall respect the prin-ciple of the publicity of the judicial process.

For civil cases, Article 188 of the Code of Civil Proce-dure stipulates that the pro-nouncement of judgments shall be made in a public trial at its hearing schedule, and the original text of the judg-ments shall be read aloud by the presiding judge.

For criminal cases, pursu-ant to Article 316 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, debates shall be made at a public hearing, unless the publicity of such proceeding poses danger to public order or customs. Article 317 of the Code of Criminal Procedure requires that, in all cases, judgments be announced at a public hearing.

Cambodian courts have properly held public trials and public pronouncements of judgments.

However, they have yet to implement the publication of judicial decisions, except for the extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (eCCC) which has widely dis-seminated its decisions and made the indictments, trial schedules, debates, pro-nouncements of the judg-ments, and the text of the judgments or its decisions accessible to the public on its website.

There are diverging views on the concept of publishing judicial decisions among the Cambodian legal and judicial community. Some argue that judicial decisions are not dis-seminated given that courts

in general, except for the eCCC, do not have sufficient human, logistic and financial resources to publish and dis-seminate their decisions in print or in electronic formats.

However, others comment that the main reasons why the courts do not publish their decisions are, generally, leaders in the judiciary are unwilling to do so, or are concerned about the quality and accuracy of the court’s decisions.

Specifically, they say some decisions are related to polit-ical cases or are influenced by corruption, where the judicial process may not have been conducted in a proper and transparent man-ner. Additionally, judicial

decisions may have been unreasonable, or there may have been a lack of proper analysis of the facts and legal reasoning, or a fear of public criticism.

Therefore, the courts do not allow the public other than the concerned parties to have access to their deci-sions. even the extracts or summaries of their decisions are not accessible.

Such perception has eroded confidence in Cambodian courts among the national and international communities, painting a sombre picture that the courts have not kept pace

with global development.I believe that the publica-

tion of judicial decisions is very important. It ensures a fair trial, changes the nega-tive public perceptions on the capacity of Cambodian judges and the judiciary as a whole, and increases the transparency of the public service of the courts.

It also establishes a clear legal resource for judges, lawyers and legal scholars; develops a consistent legal practice and culture with the spirit of public accountabili-ty; and will help improve the capacity of judges and court officials in the long run.

There are also concerns that the publication of judi-cial decisions could affect

the privacy and rights of dis-puting parties as protected by national and internation-al laws.

I believe that these con-cerns are not legitimate because the publicity of the judicial process and fair trials are core principles which serve larger public interests than the protection of indi-vidual privacy. Disputing parties shall realise that when they refer their dis-putes to courts, they will be exposed to a public trial.

on the other hand, once courts have implemented public trials and public pro-

nouncements of judicial decisions, there will be no more reason to keep the body or text of the decisions in secrecy.

The general public and media should be given access to the judicial decisions in order for them to study, criti-cise and appreciate them. This allows the public to rec-ognise the transparency and have trust in the judiciary.

I also believe that the pre-liminary steps in judicial reform should be focused on increasing transparency in the provision of public service by the courts, starting from the publication of judicial deci-sions at all levels following the examples of the eCCC.

Leaders in the judiciary

shall not hesitate, for politi-cal excuses, to publish and disseminate the judicial deci-sions because public confi-dence in the judiciary should also be considered a major political concern.

This is because it will sig-nificantly contribute to improving social justice and the respect of law by law enforcement officers and the people, and reducing dem-onstrations and violence out-side the court system. Fur-thermore, Cambodian judges will also strive to improve their capacities.

If the courts across the

country are unable to pub-lish and disseminate their decisions, the final decisions of the Supreme Court and the Courts of Appeal should be published on the bulletins of court decisions or posted on the courts’ websites or on the ministry of Justice’s website.

It should be noted that in the late 90s the Supreme Court would publish and dis-seminate its decisions on the bulletins of court decisions but stopped doing so for rea-sons that are not immediate-ly clear.

The justice ministry and/or the Supreme Court may also issue guidance or instruc-tions to courts at all levels regarding the formats, con-tents, and mode of publica-tion of court decisions, sim-ply by removing any decisions which they believe may cause harm to the pub-lic order or good customs of Cambodia, particularly when it involves the issue of, inter alia, amorality or the dignity of women or children.

I have often observed that representatives of the Cam-bodian government, espe-cially senior officials of the justice ministry, often claim that Cambodia is a rule-of-law country.

“The government does not interfere in the judiciary’s affairs,” they say. “The trials are fair to all citizens whether they are politicians or ordi-nary citizens.”

In contrast, members of the general public, national and international civil society organisations, as well as Un representatives, often seem to have a differing evaluation on the Cambodian judiciary – they do not seem to accept the defensive claims of the government and often make statements demanding the courts to conduct fair trials with transparency and in accordance with the law.

As a lawyer, researcher and jurist, it is still hard to be convinced by the claims from the government representa-tives because their claims may not be supported by the current practice, as perceived by the public at large.

I urge that judicial deci-sions be published so that lawyers, scholars and jurists could have judicial precedents and legal bases for studying, searching and counselling.

one of the reasons for dis-trusting the Cambodian courts, aside from political reasons in which the govern-ment representatives have been seen as actively exercis-ing excessive power on judi-cial affairs, is the lack of transparency and publicity in the judicial process.

Leaders in the judiciary are not brave enough to publish court decisions to illustrate to the public the improve-ment in work capacity of Cambodian judges even when they are capable of tak-ing good decisions.

The writer is Managing Partner of HBS Law.

opinionLy Tayseng

Importance of publicity of judicial process and publication of judicial decisions

Ly Tayseng is Managing Partner of HBS Law. hbs law and hbs natary public

I urge that judicial decisions be published so that lawyers, scholars

and jurists could have judicial precedents and legal bases for

studying, searching and counselling

Roth Sochieata

FROM a distance, one might mistake Bin Chharann’s sculpture of Chuon Nath – the

creator of the Khmer diction-ary – as an actual monk medi-tating peacefully.

The wrinkles in his forehead, the taut tendons protruding from his neck and the finely detailed draping of his orange robe bring the sculpture to life.

Chharann has sculpted many replicas of his iconic 1.3m-tall Chuon Nath statue, which can be seen in schools, pagodas and public places across the country.

He’s also sculpted statues of Krom Ngoy, a famous Khmer poet and a master of the kse diev, a traditional string instrument, as well as King Jayavarman VII of the Khmer Empire.

Chharann admired these Cambodian heroes and by bringing them to life as sculp-tures, he says he is preserving their legacy while also sus-taining his livelihood.

The 39-year-old artist tells The Post: “The statue of Sam-dech Sangha Raja Jhotanano Chuon Nath is the work I’m most satisfied with. I’ve paid so much attention to every detail as much as possible.”

“I adore him so much that I want to do this while I still have the strength. I paid special attention to this and sculpted it from clay.”

For many, Chuon Nath is the most captivating of all his

pieces. “It took me a month to accom-

plish this statue, but I only spent around half an hour per day on it. I am mostly busy drawing. I just use my spare time from my painting job to do this.”

Chharann’s main job is as a painter focusing on tradition-al and religious arts.

Learning from the mastersThe sculptor told The Post that

he spent 22 years perfecting the art of painting and sculpting.

“My father is a gifted paint-er. I inherited a little from him. But he is just a normal

teacher. He didn’t make a liv-ing from that,” he says.

Watching his father draw, Chharann fell in love with art and convinced his father to let him follow his passion.

Chharann was sent to learn from one of the famous artists in his hometown of O’Reang-ou district in Tbong Khmum province in 1998.

After six months of absorbing skills from the artist, he moved to Phnom Penh to study paint-ing near Wat Phnom before travelling to Siem Reap prov-ince to further hone his skills.

“When I went to study at Wat

Phnom, I didn’t study intense-ly in a physical class. I just learned more techniques from the teacher there as he taught his students. I practised this by myself. After that, I started using my skills to draw on the temple for two years,” he says.

“Around 2004 I went to study at the Morodok Khmer school in Siem Reap province, where they taught not only painting but sculpting too. After com-pleting a year there, I contin-ued to focus more on drawing because I was not able to af-ford equipment and art sup-plies for sculpting yet.”

A switch to sculptingChharann, a father of five,

said he now sculpts from clay, marble, cement, wood and copper.

He says copper makes the best quality sculptures but are the most complicated to create.

Chharann adds that one of the biggest challenges is mak-ing sure he’s in an environment where he can stay completely focused on the task at hand. If there’s too much noise, he’s not able to work effectively.

He often turns to medita-tion to pull himself together before he gets to work on a painting or a sculpture.

“This really needs patience,” he says. “We can’t rush or take shortcuts. We need to sculpt little by little and wait for the cement to dry until it reaches the thickness we want. Only then will I start to sculpt the ears, eyes and nose.”

“I mostly receive orders to draw figures from Buddhist history, kings and Cambodian heroes. There are a few family pictures too,” he says.

The sculptor, who lives in Prey Veng province with his wife, adds that sculpting one of his Cambodian heroes normally takes 10 full days of work.

The price for each statue is $1,000 with a pedestal, in-cluding delivery fare, or $800 without the supporting base.

“Most of my customers are Buddhist monks and followers in the pagodas and head prin-ciples from schools,” he says.

Thanks to pictures of his

Chuon Nath statue going viral on social media, it’s his most fa-mous work. But Chharann says it doesn’t take away from his other works.

Chharann says customers also ask for sculptures and paintings based on photos they provide to him.

He charges $25 per square metre for wall paintings, while wall carvings cost $70 per square metre. A painting 80 by 120cm costs $150.

Chharann currently has three apprentices – his wife, his cousin and a young worker.

“My last word on the behalf of sculptors is that I hope the government and Cambodi-ans will continue to value the hard work we put in, in the hope of conserving our cul-ture,” he says.

“I encourage people who wish to become artists to think that money is not an object, but their achievement is. So just focus on what you’re do-ing, the money will come after.

“My purpose for the next two to three years is to sculpt other heroes as well, such as [the late] King Norodom Sihanouk, King Norodom Sihamoni and Beat Richner, the founder of Kan-tha Bopha Children’s Hospital. I hope this will be something I can leave behind for my family when I am no longer here on this earth with them.”

For more information need-ed Bin Chharann, the sculptor and painter can be contacted via phone number 012204022 or 0889026655.

Arts & Culture14 THE PHNOM PENH POST NOVEMBER 6, 2020 www.PHNOMPENHPOST.COM

Cambodia’s heroes brought to lifeSculptor Bin Chharann working on a sculpture of Chuon Nath, the creator of the Khmer dictionary. supplied

Most of Chharann’s artwork depicts figures from Cambodia’s past. supplied

A NEW study says a woman’s place might never have been at home to begin with.

Scientists said Wednesday they had discovered the 9,000-year-old remains of a young woman in the Peruvian An-des alongside a well-stocked big game hunting toolkit.

Based on a further analysis of 27 individuals at burial sites with similar tools, a team led by Randall Haas at the Uni-versity of California, Davis concluded that between 30 to 50 per cent of hunters in the Americas during this period may have been women.

The paper, published in the journal Science Advances, contradicts the prevalent no-tion that in hunter-gatherer societies, the hunters were mainly men and the gather-ers were mainly women.

“I think it tells us that for at least some portion of human prehistory, that assumption was inaccurate,” Haas told AFP.

He added that the results “highlight the disparities in labour practice today, in terms of things like gender pay gaps, titles, and rank. The results really underscore that there may be nothing ‘natu-ral’ about those disparities.”

The skeletal remains of six people including two hunt-ers were discovered in 2018 by Haas and members of the local Mulla Fasiri community at Wilamaya Patjxa, an im-portant archaeological site in highland Peru.

Analyses of the hunters’ bone structure as well as bio-logical molecules called pep-tides in their tooth enamel allowed scientists to identify one as a 17- to 19-year-old female, and the second as a 25- to 30-year-old male.

Excavating the teen’s burial site was particularly “inter-esting and exciting” for the team, said Haas.

As they dug, they uncov-ered an array of hunting and animal processing tools that provided strong evidence for her hunter status.

These included stone pro-

jectile points for felling large animals, a knife and flakes of rock for removing internal organs, and tools for scraping and tanning hides.

The artefacts were likely placed together in a perishable container like a leather bag.

According to the paper, the teen, dubbed “WMP6” by the scientists, would have used a weapon called an “atlatl”, a spear-throwing lever that al-lowed our ancient ancestors to throw spears much further.

Her main prey at the time would have been species like the vicuna, a wild ancestor of the alpaca, and Andean deer.

Not an anomalyTo find out whether the fe-

male hunter was an outlier, or one of many from her time, the researchers conducted a review of 429 individuals buried across 107 sites in the Americas from around 17,000 to 4,000 years ago.

Of those, they found 27 in-dividuals whose sex had reli-ably been determined and who were buried alongside big game hunting tools – find-ing that 16 were male and 11 were female.

“The sample is sufficient to warrant the conclusion that female participation in early big-game hunting was likely nontrivial,” the team wrote,

using a statistical model to estimate between 30-50 per cent of hunters in these soci-eties were women.

The new study adds to a body of literature that sup-ports “the contention that modern gender constructs of-ten do not reflect past ones,” the team wrote.

This includes the 2017 confir-mation of a female Viking war-rior through a genetic study.

Certain questions remain – such as why many modern hunter-gatherer societies do show sex-bias in hunting ac-tivities.

Theories include they could have been influenced by out-siders.

Or, perhaps the atlatl tool used by WMP6 and her con-temporaries had a less steep learning curve than the tech-nologies that succeeded it, making it possible to achieve proficiency in childhood be-fore girls reached sexual ma-turity and had to devote their time to childcare and rearing.

By contrast, mastering the bow and arrow requires on-going practice well into the teenage years.

Haas said he hoped his pa-per might spark further re-search to find out whether there were female hunters at the time in other parts of the world. AFP

15THE PHNOM PENH POST NOVEMBER 6, 2020 www.PHNOMPENHPOST.cOM

Thinking caps

ACROSS 1 Tolkien monsters 5 Ink’s color, to Browning 9 Milking-machine attachment 14 Early-bird special, e.g. 15 Cape Canaveral cancellation 16 Least favorite pet? 17 Group that includes the gluteus

maximus 20 “Whoopee!” 21 A beagle’s prominent feature 22 Landlord’s income 23 Cleaned one’s plate 24 Car grille protector 26 Palm fruit 28 Agra garment 30 Great Dane it’s not 34 Salt of the sea? 37 Like a certain wolf or eagle 39 Princess’ headgear 40 Attractive quality 44 Clear a cribbage board 45 Aquatic organism 46 Sauce type 47 Ready to go 49 Type of excuse or duck 51 Hard to comprehend

53 Tyranno-saurus ___ 54 Kind of rally 57 Two-part 60 Biblical boat 62 Dora the Explorer, e.g. 64 Pay for merely showing up 67 Back of a boat 68 Without equal 69 Vague quantity 70 Merry-go-round figure, to a child

(Var.) 71 Logan postings 72 Lid swellingDOWN 1 Missouri River city 2 Contradict, as testimony 3 Group of officers 4 Speak after one too many 5 Hold spellbound 6 Ghost’s word 7 Cruel person 8 One difficult to locate 9 Bullish times 10 Broken-down 11 Editing mark 12 Odd opposite 13 Quiet relaxation

18 Alternatives to buses 19 River to the Caspian Sea 25 Kind of therapy 27 British art gallery name 29 Excluding nothing 31 Honored guest’s site 32 Approximately 33 Like meat past its prime 34 Tightly-strung 35 Diarist Frank 36 Ready for harvest 38 Samantha of “Doctor Dolittle” 41 Busybodies 42 Tropical malady 43 Anonymous 48 Anjou or Bartlett 50 Cause for cramming 52 Talk excessively 54 Wine option 55 Hostile party 56 Endorser, of a sort 57 100-yard contest 58 As many as 59 Imitative sort 61 Boat speed unit 63 Mix, as a salad 65 Whatever amount 66 Book balancer

“MORNING SOLVING”

Thursday’s solution

Thursday’s solution

Lifestyle

In this undated photo provided BY UC Davis to AFP on November 4, 2020, archaeologists conduct excavations at Wilamaya Patjxa in Peru. AFP

Based on a further analysis of 27 individuals at burial sites with similar tools, scientists concluded that between 30 to 50 per cent of hunters in the Americas during this period may have been women. AFP

Study: Female hunters more common than previously thought

16

Sport

THE PHNOM PENH POST november 6, 2020 www.PHNOMPENHPOST.cOM

barca, Juventus advance in Champions League as man Utd suffers Turkey defeatL

ionel messi scored as barcelona overcame a depleted Dynamo Kiev 2-1 in the Cham-

pions League on Wednesday, while Juventus eased Ferenc-varos aside and manchester United slumped to an unex-pected defeat in Turkey.

nine-man Paris Saint-Ger-main lost to rb Leipzig in a repeat of last season’s semi-final and Chelsea proved too strong for rennes, with Timo Werner twice converting from the penalty spot.

making his 150th appear-ance in european competi-tion, messi dispatched an early penalty at Camp nou after he was fouled in the area and Gerard Pique headed in Ansu Fati’s cross on the hour.

viktor Tsygankov grabbed a consolation for coronavirus-hit Dynamo as barca, winless in four games in La Liga, re-corded their third successive Group G victory to stay three points clear of Juventus.

“We are happy because we won,” said barca coach ron-ald Koeman. “but we have to play better than we did today. We have to improve, above all without the ball, where we haven’t played well.”

Cristiano ronaldo made his first start for the Italian cham-pions since September after testing positive for Covid-19 in a 4-1 win at Hungarian side Ferencvaros.

However, the Portuguese star was outshone in buda-pest by Alvaro morata, whose two goals put Andrea Pirlo’s team in control.

Paulo Dybala added a third before an own goal from

Lasha Dvali, with Franck boli netting for the hosts in the fi-nal minute.

United produced a sham-bolic first-half defensive dis-play as ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side lost 2-1 against Istanbul basaksehir.

Demba ba collected the ball just inside his own half and raced through to beat goal-keeper Dean Henderson on 13 minutes, with edin visca smashing in a second after

Juan mata was stripped of possession.

Anthony martial’s header cut the deficit before half-time but United saw their momentum in Group H halt-ed after wins over PSG and rb Leipzig last month.

“You don’t just turn up and get three points in the Cham-pions League. We weren’t good enough, that’s it. It’s not easy to be positive when you’ve lost the way we did,”

Solskjaer told bT Sport.

PSG capitulate in Leipzigemil Forsberg’s penalty

earned Leipzig a 2-1 victory as they came from behind to beat a weakened Paris Saint-Germain, dealing a major blow to the Champi-ons League aspirations of last season’s runners-up.

Angel di maria had given PSG an early lead in Germany but he then crucially missed a

penalty for the French cham-pions, who were missing both neymar and Kylian mbappe due to injury and ended the contest with nine men.

Christopher nkunku levelled before half-time for Leipzig and Forsberg converted from the spot in the 57th minute before the visitors had both Idrissa Gueye and Presnel Kimpembe sent off.

“It’s difficult. It’s maybe our fault because we didn’t get the

second goal and then made a mistake on the penalty,” PSG boss Thomas Tuchel told rmC Sport.

“There was a red card, it’s then hard, 10 against 11. There were too many things going against us.”

Chelsea strolled to a 3-0 win at home against rennes who saw defender Dalbert sent off after conceding two penalties in the first half.

Werner took over spot-kick duties from Jorginho and con-fidently tucked both away be-fore Tammy Abraham turned in a third for the blues on 50 minutes.

Frank Lampard’s men have yet to concede in Group e and are level on seven points with Sevilla, who rallied to defeat Krasnodar 3-2 despite the dismissal of captain Jesus navas late in the first half.

Goals from magomed Su-leymanov and marcus berg, the second a penalty, put Krasnodar ahead in Spain but Ivan rakitic pulled one back for Sevilla before the break.

morocco striker Youssef en-nesyri struck twice in four second-half minutes to floor Krasnodar and leave the rus-sians alongside rennes on just one point.

erling braut Haaland notched a brace to lead borus-sia Dortmund to a 3-0 win at Club brugge and send the Ger-mans top of Group F. Thorgan Hazard had opened the scor-ing in his native belgium.

Felipe Caicedo’s late equa-liser earned Lazio a 1-1 draw at Zenit Saint Petersburg after Aleksandr erokhin had struck in the first half. afp

‘Great achievement’ as nadal claims 1,000th career victoryrAFAeL nadal said he was proud of a “great achievement” after securing the 1,000th Tour-level victory of his illustri-ous career on Wednesday, becoming the fourth man to reach that mark with a comeback win over Feliciano Lopez in the Paris masters second round.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion, back in the French capital less than a month after winning his 13th roland Garros title, edged out his fellow Span-iard 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-4.

“I am proud about a lot of things, but I faced some challenges in my career in terms of body injuries,” said nadal.

“but I always had the passion to keep go-ing and the humility to keep going when things are going in a way you don’t expect.

‘It’s a great achievement for me’nadal, whose first match win on the

ATP Tour came in April 2002 when he was just 15, is fourth on the all-time list,

with Jimmy Connors leading the way on 1,274 victories, 32 more than second-placed roger Federer.

“one negative thing about getting to 1,000 – is that you’re very old as it means you have to have had a very long career,” added nadal.

‘But I’m very happy’Ivan Lendl also passed the 1,000-win

barrier.nadal was given a special presentation

to celebrate his achievement after the match in a near-empty bercy Arena, with the event being played behind closed doors after France entered its second coronavirus lockdown last week.

The 34-year-old nadal, bidding for a first Paris masters title, will face Jordan Thompson in the third round after the Australian beat Croatia’s borna Coric 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.

Taking the trophy in Paris this week

would see nadal equal novak Djokovic’s record of 36 masters titles.

He struggled to find his rhythm for much of the match as 39-year-old Lo-pez served excellently, saving the first six break points he faced, but nadal stepped it up in the second-set tie-break.

The top seed grabbed the crucial break in the first game of the decider and then eased to victory after saving two break points himself in the next game.

“It was a very tough match,” said nadal. “I started in the worst way possible with a break. Against him, that’s difficult be-cause you’re under pressure for the whole match.”

The world number two is playing the tournament for the eighth time in his ca-reer, but he pulled out midway through his last two appearances due to injury.

His best run at bercy was when he lost in the 2007 final to Argentinian David nalbandian. afp

Spain’s Rafael Nadal won his 1,000th Tour-level victory on Wednesday, becoming the fourth man to reach that mark. afp

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi attacks between two Kiev players in the Uefa Champions League Group G final. afp